Penguin Masterpieces

I have a new design hero within the field of publishing. His name is David Pearson— which is a funny coincidence, I think, because Penguin is also owned by Pearson Publishers— and he is the man behind all of Penguin's amazing cover series. I was positively drooling over the nature imagery and color palatte used for the Great Loves series (above). But to get the full effect of how brilliant he really is, you need to view the full set here.
I went on to learn that Pearson was also behind the covers for both of Penguin's Great Ideas Series. What I love most about these covers is that they are driven mainly by typography, with plenty of white space and subtle, appropriate imagery for each subject. Very smart designing. Each cover is both beautiful in its own right and fantastic as part of the whole. Here for the full series of Great Ideas Volume 1 and here for Volume 2.
And because I really am just that obsessed, here are a few more from his Great Journeys series.